When going on vacation to Mexico, please note: if you take cash, the best option — US dollars, and when paying it is better to use either cash pesos or a bank card.
The national currency of Mexico ismexican peso. On price tags it is designated as MXN, but more often as $ — just like the dollar, only in Mexico it is a peso.
Cash currency
You can take any freely convertible currency to Mexico, but it is preferable —US dollars.
It is wrong to believe that the euro is undervalued in Mexico. All currencies have an adequate tariff against the Mexican peso. But the cash dollar has a number of advantages.
The US dollar is more widely circulated in Mexico because the power's main foreign guests — Americans. You can pay in cash in dollars at many retail outlets, where the exchange rate is indicated at the cash registers. These are almost all supermarkets and shops "near the house". Euros and other currencies (Canadian dollars, pounds, Swiss francs, etc.) are not accepted for payment almost anywhere, but they can be exchanged at exchange offices.
Banks and exchange offices accept cash dollars of any denomination and any year of issue without restrictions. In addition, worn, torn bills and dollars with stamps and inscriptions, but not severely damaged, are normally accepted. 500 euro notes are also accepted.
Moreover, it is often more profitable to pay in dollars in supermarkets, since the rate will be higher than at exchange offices. If you ask, they will give you change in pesos. But there are also restrictions: large bills are not accepted, and the purchase amount must be adequate to the amount of change. In other words, you won’t be able to buy $10 to make change from a $50 bill.
The most unfavorable dollar exchange rate — when paying for gasoline at gas stations.
It makes sense to carry cash dollars if your income is denominated in this currency or if you have to pay in Mexico for something exclusively in dollars. If not, then take some dollars for the first time and bank cards with the main amount, it doesn’t matter in what currency. Cards will still be debited in pesos.
The first time you lose on the exchange rate is when buying cash dollars or euros in your country. The second time you lose is in Mexico, when exchanging dollars or euros for pesos. To be fair, we note that when paying with a bank card, exactly the same «double» conversion that we don't see. But the commission for it is significantly lower than when exchanging cash.
How to pay
It is more profitable to pay in pesos. We wrote above about dollars in supermarkets. If you need cash in pesos, withdraw it from your bank card at an ATM. Even with the fee for withdrawing cash in pesos, it is still more profitable than changing cash in dollars.The mostlow commission — at CiBanco ATMs —29 MXN58 MXNregardless of the withdrawal amount, with a withdrawal limit of MXN 25,000 at a time. You can make withdrawals throughout the day until the cash at a particular ATM runs out. There are a lot of CiBanco ATMs in the Cancun Hotel Zone, where the key hotels are located, but there are few of them in downtown.
By bank cardIt’s more profitable to pay at retail outlets, in which case the commission is zero. In Mexico, you have the right to pay with a card almost everywhere, even when buying tickets for excursions, for other services in hotels and in medical institutions. Only very small retail outlets do not have card terminals. Cash may be required when purchasing souvenirs, when traveling on public transport or ADO buses upon boarding, and in a number of other cases.
Paying by credit card in Mexico has all the same caveats as in any other country in the world. It is wrong to think that this is a dangerous operation in Mexico — Card fraud is common in many countries around the world, but in Mexico it is no more common.
In travel zones, if you are not careful, money can be debited from the card in dollars with double conversion: the card currency — peso — dollars. But this rarely happens, and usually sellers ask in what currency to write off.
Typically, ATMs do not allow you to select the currency you want to purchase. Most ATMs dispense pesos. But in tourist areas you will also find ATMs that dispense dollars. Even if the currency of your card is — dollars,don't usethese ATMs. The transaction will undergo double dollar conversion — peso — dollar, and you will withdraw cash at a very unfavorable rate.
It’s the same story when withdrawing cash from a card through bank branches. In fact, you buy dollars at the rate of sale for pesos, which will be debited from your card, no matter what currency the card is.
When withdrawing money from ATMs, select English from the menu and read whether the terminal offers additional «more profitable» conversion from the currency of your card (the so-called «dynamic conversion»). The exchange rate offered by an ATM may appear to be more favorable than the nearby cash exchange rate. But this is a legal scam, sanctioned by both Visa and Mastercard, which can cost you 5-6% of the transaction amount. Practice «dynamic conversion» used by banks in many countries around the world. In fact, the ATM cannot know and record the real exchange rate, since the conversion takes place on the side of the bank that issued your card. And therefore it misleads you by offering its exchange rate.
If the ATM offers you its own exchange rate, refuse such conversion, but continue with the withdrawal.
Where to change
It is allowed to change cash currency at bank branches and exchange offices. You must have your passport with you.
It is least profitable to change cash currency at the airport and in tourist areas. Bank branches have the right to offer a higher exchange rate than exchange offices. Minus — There are queues at banks. You can change currency without knowing Spanish.
You can check currency exchange rates on the company's websiteSan Jorge— you will find its exchange offices everywhere in all resorts on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, and in addition in Merida, Monterrey, Acapulco and Los Cabos.
When exchanging at bank branches, take a closer look at the same CiBanco — usually, it offers a slightly better exchange rate than other banks. In addition, it is necessary to take into account that the peso exchange rate has the right to change very dynamically, for this reason the rate that was yesterday is no longer an indicator today.
Also read our publications about usingdollarsin Mexico and how to receive cashby codeat a Mexican ATM.